Financializing the poor

Dead capital', women's gold and microfinance in Pakistan

Bibliographic Data

ID2159758
AuthorsGhazal Zulfiqar (0000-0001-7759-7480, Lahore University of Management Sciences)
Year2017
Volume46
Issue3-4
Pages476-498
Publication date2017-10-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueEconomy and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0308-5147 • E-ISSN: 1469-5766
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03085147.2017.1412643
OpenAlexW2794080674
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited28

This study examines how Pakistani microfinance banks' (MFBs) collateralized microcredit arrangements take advantage of the cultural centrality of gold in women's lives. In so doing, it contributes to the wider debate on financial inclusion and financialization. The product, processes and narratives examined are a local manifestation of global finance's emphasis on engaging commercially viable means to bring previously 'unbanked' populations within its fold. Based on fieldwork in Lahore and Karachi, two of Pakistan's largest cities, this paper highlights how the 'financial inclusion' agenda of microfinance has effectively financialized the lives of poor Pakistani women. Our analysis finds that Pakistani MFBs draw on patriarchy's hierarchical norms and the precariousness of low-income living in ways which bolster their own financial positions. This is supported by the country's central bank, which has granted collateralized microfinance products a 'risk-free' rating, easing the path to the financialization of jewellery which in a South Asian context is directly associated with women's social standing and economic security. The outcome is a deepening of deep-seated vulnerabilities

Business · Capital (architecture · Development economics · Economic growth · Economics · Financial system · Geography · Microfinance · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Microfinance and Financial Inclusion · Urban and Rural Development Challenges

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